CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Mental-health resource to receive state funds

Daily Star, The (Oneonta, NY) - 9/8/2015

Sept. 08--An area mental health resource is being allotted a portion of $20 million in financing from the state Office of Mental Health, according to a recent announcement from the office of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Mental health programs that will share the funding include the state's Mobile Integration Teams, which provide clinical intervention and support to treat and maintain individuals with mental illness in the home or community, according to the release.

The Southern Tier Mobile Integration Team runs the 24/7 Mobile Crisis Assessment Team, or MCAT, serving Otsego, Delaware, Chenango and Schoharie counties.

The funding is part of the state's $59 million plan to expand the availability and accessibility of mental health services to New York residents, according to the release.

According to the Southern Tier MIT's online brochure, the program's goal is to create a system where "person-centered services" are provided to individuals and their families when and where they need them.

Representatives from MCAT were not available for comment Monday, but Kate Hewlett, an employee at Otsego County'sRehabilitation Support Services who has worked as a peer engagement specialist with MCAT, said the program is "excellent" and deserves the funding.

"It's exciting to go out into the community with them and help," Hewlett said Monday. "And I look forward to working with MCAT more."

The development of MCAT has been a much-needed addition for the area, according to Hewlett. Since the termination of psychiatric services at A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta and the cutting back of psychiatric inpatient unit beds at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, patients on the verge of breakdowns don't have many immediate options, she said, and often end up having to travel to hospitals in Utica, Syracuse, Binghamton or Albany.

Through MCAT, people can get on-the-spot help, as well as referrals for treatment and necessary services to keep them out of crisis, and out of the hospital, Hewlett said. Some people use the service every weekend if they need to, she added.

"The reason it's so important is that it helps with hospital prevention," Hewlett stressed, adding, "The MCAT people make a great team because many have lived experience with major mental illnesses and there is also a trained social worker there."

MCAT's efforts to prevent hospitalization is a step in the right direction, according to state Office of Mental Health Commissioner Ann Marie T. Sullivan.

"For many individuals with mental illness, recovery is not only possible, but also increasingly probable with the access to available and comprehensive community-based mental health services," Sullivan said in a statement. "By providing immediate access to mental health services and connecting New York residents to a wide array of treatment options located in their home communities, we reduce the inappropriate use of emergency departments, inpatient hospitalizations and other disruptive and extended out-of-home placements."

MCAT can be reached at (877) 369-6699 or (877) 732-6228.

___

(c)2015 The Daily Star (Oneonta, N.Y.)

Visit The Daily Star (Oneonta, N.Y.) at www.thedailystar.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.